Sunshine Law allegations cost commissioners $60,000 in legal fees, and Manatee may pay
The Manatee Board of County Commissioners may decide to cover $60,000 in legal fees that two officials racked up while battling allegations that they broke Florida’s Sunshine Law.
At the board’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, May 11, commissioners will vote to decide whether they cover the costs that Commissioners James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge paid to hire private attorneys to represent them in the case.
The $60,000 bill is a direct result of a complaint filed by Sarasota-based paralegal Michael Barfield, who made a public record request seeking information related to the board’s Nov. 19 vote to move forward with firing ex-county administrator Cheri Coryea.
Barfield contested that the commissioners, who took the oath of office two days ahead of the vote, had conspired and broke Florida’s Sunshine Law that prevents elected officials in the same body from discussing business outside of public meetings.
After two weeks had passed without Satcher and Van Ostenbridge producing the text messages, emails and other public records, Barfield sued the commissioners. He also filed a complaint that sparked an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Special agents completed their preliminary fact-finding investigation in March and said they found “no information obtained to substantiate that a criminal violation occurred.”
The lawsuit, which also named Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, continues to move through the court system. According to court documents, Barfield dropped Satcher and Van Ostenbridge from the lawsuit after reaching a settlement agreement on April 23.
The $60,000 payment covers “legal fees, costs and settlement payments,” County Attorney Bill Clague wrote in a memo. He said Florida law allows the county to cover those costs because the case involved Satcher and Van Ostenbridge “performing their official duties for a public purpose.”
While the board may elect to cover those costs, it’s not a requirement and will be left to the board’s discretion. Generally speaking, Barfield said that Satcher and Van Ostenbridge would be barred from voting on the motion. Clague did not immediately respond to a Tuesday afternoon email seeking clarification on the matter.
Barfield called the $60,000 bill “astonishing,” noting that the settlement payment he received was about $6,000 to cover his court reporter fees, filing fees and other legal costs.
“That would mean their own fees are $54,000. That’s eye-popping,” Barfield said Tuesday. “That’s a shocking number. There was not what I would call heavy litigation in this case. Perhaps they’re seeking fees for the criminal investigation, I’m just not sure. I can’t justify how they would’ve gotten to $60,000 in the public records case.”
Clague’s memo does mention that the attorneys represented Satcher and Van Ostenbridge in the FDLE investigation, but the agenda packet posted online Monday afternoon does not include receipts or billing information.
“We’re entitled to those bills and frankly, I’m surprised that’s not part of the packet. It has to be a reasonable cost. It’s not like they can claim that they paid a much higher number like $600,00,” Barfield explained. “There should be billing details that Bill Clague has from the attorney to justify the time they spent on the case and what they were doing.”
A settlement has not been made with Baugh. If that changes in the future, Clague said the board would also be eligible to cover the legal fees that she incurred as well.
Public meeting
What: The Manatee Board of County Commissioners is expected to discuss the item during a public meeting.
When: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 11.
Where: Manatee County Administration Building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 2:52 PM.
